Christmas cards are sometimes more than meets the eye. Yes, I did just use a line from Transformers but not the movie…the only place real Transformers exist in my mind – the cartoon!

Take any of those business Christmas cards you received this holiday season for instance. They may look like just mere Christmas cards to you, but there are other things you can do with these works of art. How about converting them into your own masterpiece? Cut the front off of these beautiful designs; make a collage; and hang them on your wall. Maybe put them in your cubicle, and keep that holiday spirit all year long.

If you want to be really advanced, try and make a customized gift box out of them. These Christmas greeting cards can help make any gift look good. Take a plain gift box, spruce it up with a bunch of cut outs from Christmas cards from years past. Now look at that plain gift box…not so plain anymore, now is it?!?

I kept last year’s Christmas cards and strung them altogether, hung them off the top of the ceiling, and look at that…I had a festive banner. So don’t think all you have to do with your Christmas cards is open them, hang them on your mantle, and then throw them out. There’s infinite ways to use these little pieces of art. Just be creative and think outside the box.

Personalized Christmas cards may be something we all take for granted these days, but as with so many other things, personalized holiday cards didn’t always exist. Originally, people made their own greeting cards. The first known “manufactured” Christmas card was in 1843 London, with one individual commissioning a lithographic artist to design and print his cards. Presumably, he still had to sign them.

As Mrs. Claus pointed out to her hubby, people were always saying “thank you” to Santa for his gift-giving (past, present, and anticipated future) but rarely thought to say “thank you” to any of Santa’s elves. So, at some point, Santa decided it was only right and prudent to give Christmas cards to all of his elves, who after all, had worked so diligently all year to provide for the holiday happiness of others. There were a lot of elves, but Santa did have all year to prepare the cards, plus he had the able and enthusiastic assistance of Mrs. Claus.

Years passed and the world population kept increasing. Fortunately, the elfin population increased proportionally, so the workshop was able to keep pace in the production of toys and other goodies. Another fortunate event was the invention of computers, which made Santa’s record-keeping, not to mention his delivery scheduling, more manageable and efficient.

One problem, however, came to be known as “Santa Burn-Out.” He simply could not keep up with hand-signing so many Christmas cards! Poor Santa lost weight and was starting to lose the twinkle in his eyes. But then Santa became a customer of The Gallery Collection. His custom Christmas cards are now perfectly, professionally printed, and he’s able to send them in such a timely fashion that the elves receive them while Santa is making his Christmas Eve deliveries. And, you know what? Now that Santa uses personalized holiday cards, when his big annual journey is completed, he gets the biggest, warmest “welcome home” that you can imagine!

Brushing teeth and Christmas cards in my house have A LOT in common. My children are the age of “real teeth” and they must brush them religiously! Every parent loathes the idea of having a child less than perfect in a fashion that was avoidable. That whole parent-child psychology thing is a big topic and not one to get into right now. So you ask what’s the connection? The answer is simple – I constantly remind my kids to brush their teeth.

I have four children and they all react differently. Lindsey is great. She has generally already brushed her teeth, and so when I ask, her response “I did!” comes with a big smile. Daisy most often says “Oh yeah! I forgot,” and she rushes off to brush her teeth (despite the fact that I probably reminded her 20 minutes before…she just gets distracted, I guess). Katie, the oldest, rolls her eyes, huffs and says “Daaaddddddddyyy, pluuuuuuease” and pouts, and won’t make a move towards the bathroom and the toothbrushes. Jackie says “Oh yeah!  I will right after this…” and then she seems to always forget until the next reminder when she promises again “Right after this…”

The thing is, helping customers to remember to order their Christmas cards and corporate holiday cards in time often feels like trying to get my kids to brush their teeth. Everyone knows it needs to be done. Some just put it off more than others or mean to order and then forget. In the end I’m hopeful my kids teeth are beautiful – a testament to their responsible upbringing. Of course, I also worry that too much responsible reminding will impact our relationship if they perceive me to be pestering or annoying.

The popularity of sending business holiday cards is increasing in leaps and bounds as more companies begin to realize the real value of doing so. Working for The Gallery Collection has taught me a few things, among them being the importance of remembering all the people in our lives during the holidays. What might seem like a small gesture can be quite meaningful to the person who receives a business holiday card.

Case in point is my mom, who called me one fine day in mid-December of last year, elated that her doctors had sent her Christmas cards (and beautiful ones at that!) She described one of the Christmas cards in detail, oohing and aahing over the lovely winter scenes card complete with snow-covered evergreens and personalized in elegant gold foil. She couldn’t wait to show the Christmas cards to me.

That Thursday night I joined her for dinner as I usually did once a week. She loves the thin-crust pizza that I always order for us, since they never serve it at her assisted living facility. She always complains about the food there, but that’s another story. Anyway, as soon as I walked in she said “Before we eat, I have to show you the wonderful Christmas card that Doctor B. sent me. It really is special and you know, I’ve been to lots of doctors in my 87 years and this is the first time I ever got Christmas cards from one of them.”

She handed me the Christmas card and all I could do was smile. I recognized the Christmas card as soon as I saw it! It seems that Doctor B. had excellent taste, since the greeting card he sent was from The Gallery Collection. It was one of my favorite winter scenes holiday cards!

As I looked at the Christmas card, I wondered if the good doctor realized how much happiness he brought, not just to my mom but to all his patients. That one little Christmas card was the best medicine my mom could have gotten from him!

RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ - December 3, 2008 - Prudent Publishing’s GalleryCollection.com, the leading personalized Christmas cards and corporate Holiday cards publisher in the nation, announced today that it has joined Operation Gratitude and the 2008 Army-Navy Football Game to support deployed service members through Operation Gratitude’s “Letters to Heroes” letter writing campaign.

Operation Gratitude has been sending care packages to individual service members deployed overseas since 2003. “Letters to Heroes” coordinates efforts to provide heartfelt letters to service members, which are then included in each care package.

GalleryCollection.com and Operation Gratitude donated 28,000 holiday cards and will distribute the cards at the 109th Army-Navy Game, being held at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on December 6. At the game, fans will use the holiday cards to write personal letters of appreciation to service members, and these personalized Christmas cards will be delivered in each Operation Gratitude care package.

Holiday cards will also be made available for personalization at several Philadelphia hotel welcome tables, the Army-Navy Gala held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on December 5, and Penn’s Landing.

The first Army-Navy Game kicked off in 1890 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, but it didn’t become a true annual tradition until 1930. Generally played on the first Saturday in December, the game is considered one of the longest lasting rivalries in college football. To learn more about the 2008 game, visit http://www.PhillyLovesArmyNavy.com/.

To learn more about Operation Gratitude and how to contribute to the organization’s military support efforts, visit http://www.opgratitude.com/.

About GalleryCollection.com - Prudent Publishing’s GalleryCollection.com is the leading publisher of premium quality Christmas cards and business Holiday cards in the United States. Established in 1929 and still family owned, the company offers direct-from-the-publisher prices that include customized ink and foil imprints, a large selection of memorable greetings, and matching deckle-edged envelopes made of recycled paper. GalleryCollection.com also offers numerous types of all occasion greeting cards including business birthday cards, thank you cards, and anniversary cards, many of which are FSC-certified (SW-COC-002530) and produced with Green-e certified

Contact:
Greg Koizim
(201) 641-7900 x427

About Operation Gratitude - Operation Gratitude (www.operationgratitude.com) is the 501 (c) (3) non-profit, volunteer organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages of items and letters addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile overseas regions. Its mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member’s face and to express to all troops the appreciation and support of the American people. Since its inception in March, 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than 375,000 packages to American troops deployed overseas.

Contact:
Carolyn Blashek
www.youtube.com/OpGrat
Infoline: (818) 909-0039
Tel: (818) 789-0123

A well-meaning office faces a quandary: send clients best wishes for the holidays and appreciation for their business all year with good old-fashioned Christmas cards. Or expand the warmth and gratitude in greeting cards that say “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” instead, to show respect for the culture of each of its customers.

It’s tempting either way. Christmas evokes tradition, comfort, and the times when we lived so similarly to our neighbors and the folks at the office.  The Christian faith, the feasts, the gift-giving, and the colorful decorations – these make Christmas a special and irreplaceable time of year for everyone who celebrates it.  Christmas cards have been part and parcel of the season for over 150 years. Can you imagine a year where you saw not a single Christmas card all December?  Christmas cards for the Christmas holiday…of course!

When all or most of your clients celebrate Christmas, the choice to send business Christmas cards is easy.  However, a growing percentage of today’s workforce and clientele observe something other than Christmas in the fall and winter:  Diwali, Hanukkah, the New Year, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and Eid al-Fitr, to name but a few.  The globalization of our world can be reflected in holiday cards.  While it would be difficult to identify every holiday in a single greeting card, it’s easy and thoughtful to leave the holiday open with a seasonal, non-religious sentiment inside of your greeting cards that lets your recipients know you wish them well, regardless of their religious or non-religious affiliations.

Holiday cards that refer to the “Holidays” or the “Season” give you greater latitude when winter greetings are appropriate and the holidays being celebrated by your recipients vary.  Nevertheless, whether you send Merry Christmas cards or greeting cards that wish Peace on Earth, Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings, any holiday cards you send will surely be appreciated.

John Calcott Horsley was an English narrative painter living in London from 1817 to 1903. Some of his better known commissions are two frescoes, painted in the Houses of Parliament and most notably, the holiday card his friend Sir Henry Cole asked him to paint. His friendship with Horsley came from their shared enthusiasm for art and working together to organize The Great Exhibition in 1851.

In 1943 Cole decided that he would surprise his friends with a novel and colorful holiday card at Christmas time instead of the usual Christmas letter. At that time letters were time consuming to write and were hand delivered. Cole’s idea meant that from the lithograph John painted, personalized holiday cards could be printed and mailed in pre-printed penny post envelopes. You could say it was the first form of corporate Christmas cards.

The card measured 5-1/8 by 3-1/4 inches. It was printed in a dark sepia ink and hand colored.  The design is framed by a trellis of vines forming three panels. The side panels depict figures representing two of the acts of charity, “feeding the hungry” and “clothing the naked.” In the center is a picture of a family party, including three generations, from grandparents to grandchildren, drinking wine. Below is the greeting, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”

Within ten years, Christmas cards were the rage of England. Of the 1,000 original personalized Christmas cards printed, only 12 are known to still exist. This card came to be known as the first commercial Christmas and New Year’s card.

I know you may think I’m crazy, but by the time Labor Day rolls around, all I can think of is Christmas. Christmas shopping! Christmas decorations! Christmas trees! Christmas carolers! And most importantly, Christmas cards! It’s enough to make even the most relaxed of us turn visions of sugarplums into visions of that mean one, Mr. Grinch!

For those of us already mentally making our list and checking it twice, the act of sending business greeting cards is not strictly a Christmas ritual anymore. This is a relief for a number of reasons. First of all, as much as I’d love to make a point to send my best wishes to colleagues and clients, if I wait until December, I’m taking a gamble on whether those business greeting cards will ever make it to the mailbox! Secondly, if I wait until December, my Christmas cards are bound to get lost in the shuffle with all of the other business greeting cards being sent at the same time.

That’s why business Thanksgiving cards are a great alternative. Thanking those you’ve done business with a month before the norm allows your message to stand out when it’s received and allows you to cross one more task off your list before the end of November. It also saves you the trouble of choosing between Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or Season’s Greetings for the face of the design on your business greeting cards.

There is plenty to be thankful for as autumn and winter are coming upon us, and one of those things is the option of business Thanksgiving Cards!

To me Christmas cards were something I was used to receiving rather then giving. I guess the old Christmas saying, “It’s better to give, than receive,” was meant for someone other than me.

I was never one to give personalized Christmas cards. In fact, at home my wife and daughter usually held this honor. And I must say, it was an honor they both did with great enthusiasm. However, a career change would eventually alter my perception about giving Christmas cards.

My earlier business occupation was in a blue collar field that was mostly dominated by men. We were not accustomed to giving gifts and exchanging personalized holiday cards with each other. For the holidays we would usually have a quick group lunch. Afterwards, we would run home to help out our wives.

However, as the world changed, so did our field. More and more women began taking interest in the technology field and during this transition, the giving of Christmas cards became a yearly event. However, I must admit, I was a little shocked to receive holiday cards from some old-time field personnel.

Now, several years later, I enjoy giving Christmas cards. This is a way for me to show someone that I took the time to say “hi” and to wish them happy holidays. I like to send out personalized holiday cards because of my terrible handwriting. It wasn’t easy growing up as a southpaw and my handwriting is pretty terrible. I certainly never won any awards for my penmanship. Personalized Christmas cards took away a lot of the stress of signing. It’s faster and neater. My friends can easily see that the card came from me.

Today we live in a fast pace world of electronics. People don’t talk…they chat; people don’t read books…they read web pages. It’s a great feeling to receive a Christmas card because it tells me someone took the time during there busy day to think about me and to say that I am special to them.

The holiday season is fraught with tasks that seem to never get done. Whether it is in the business world or one’s personal life, the holidays are, without a doubt, the most hectic time of the year! Although we all enjoy receiving Christmas cards, preparing and sending them to clients, family, or friends can be quite a tedious undertaking. Signing the cards, addressing envelopes, and applying postage stamps to each one are not only time consuming tasks but can often prove to be very frustrating. A way to eliminate one of these jobs is rather simple.

Personalized Christmas cards can do away with the chore of signing each and every card you send. Stuffing, addressing, and applying postage to the envelopes are jobs that still remain to be done but the elimination of signing each card is not only a time saver, but an impressive way to indicate from whom these holiday greeting cards were sent. Along with your personalization you might consider adding a line such as “Happy Holidays,” “Have a Wonderful New Year,” or “Merry Christmas.” Use your imagination to convey that little extra expression of your feelings toward those who are important to you.

I’d bet if you try it once you’ll send these custom personalized Holiday cards year after year.